Resilient seal



April l, 1941. T. A. HALLER ETAL RESILIENT SEAL Filed Dec. '7, 1938 KL.VLLHMILVLNVLa W M d Patented Apro i, 94.31

erica ansniiarrr sans,

Theodore Il. Halfter and .Bohn di. Miner, Springneld, lill., assignors to Alda-@helmers-Manufactoring Gompany, Piiiwaulree, Wis., a corpora tion of Delaware Application December i, i938, Serial No. 2%3'3'8 (Ci. 2do-mili) 5 Claims.

bricant and from which other parts project' into the presence of abrasive material. it is accordingly necessary that the jointbetween a relatively stationary casing and a rotating part projecting therefrom be sealed against the escape of lubricant and against the entry of abrasive material into the casing. Machines such as trac tors are often operated continuously for long periods of time by relatively unskilled persons and under all possible atmospheric conditions. The joints exposed toatmosphere must therefore be sealed by means which do not require external lubricatiomwhich remain eective under all conditions without adjustment thereof, and in which the seal will clear melf of obstacles to its proper functioning. Machines which must be produced by mass production methods in order to be availm able at the lowest possible price also require a seal of as few parts as possible and which is readily assembled to the joints of the machine to be sealed.

It is therefore an-object of the present invention to provide a seal with the minimum number of parts and in which the parts. are readily assembled to effect proper sealing of the rotating joints oi' a machine operating in the presence of abra'- sive material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seal which will automatically retain its sealing surfaces in the proper relation regardless ofy rela,

-tive axial, radial or rotational movement ofthe joining parts being sealed Aand regardless of the pressure interiorly or exteriorly of the seal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seal which will automatically clear-itself of obstacles to the proper operation thereof regardless of the atmospheric lconditions underA which the machine must operate,

Objects and advantages other than those set Fig. l is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on a central plane. of a portion of the final drive of a tractor of the track laying type;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the seal structure illustrated in Fig. l and acting to clear obstacles from the seal; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that ofFig. l but showing a modied form of the seal to be emplayed.

Referring more particularly to'the drawing by characters of reference, the reference numeral e designates a casing in which is-mounted a gear l rotating in roller bearings d and 9. The hub of the gear extends through the casing t and has mounted thereon a sprocket wheel it which engages thetraclr of a track laying tractor of the type known and therefore not further described. The shaft l i is provided with a ange or plate i3 forced against the inner raceway ifi of the bearing t by a sleeve it extending over the shaft il and under the action of a nut il on the shaft to retain the bearing in its proper position. The outer raceway it of the bearing 8 is lxedly seated in the hub of the gear i. The casing t has mounted thereon an annular plate it extending about the casing opening through which the shaft ll and the hollow hub 2l of the gear 'i project from the casing. The plate l@ is preferably of rust resisting inaterial provided with a plane surface which is preferably either hardened or covered with an adherent coating or plating of a smooth and hard material` A split ring 22 is mounted on hub 2i ,in a suitable groove therein and is retained in the groove by a resilientn member such as a helical spring 23 extending around the ring 2 in a groove in the outer periphery thereof. The plate i9 and ring 22 are Y spacedy from each other and thus provide an aperture through which abrasive material may enter the gear casing t, thereby contaminating the lubricant therein and causing -excessive wear of the gears in the casing and the bearings for such gears.

It is therefore necessary to provide a seal to prevent the entrance of undesired foreign material into thevfii'asing d and which seal, according to the present invention, requires only three ele.- ments or parts. A retainer 2d for the active seai y element is formed as a substantially annular forth above will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: l

plate and is mounted on the sprocket i2 by suit able bolts or st ids 2t extending through the retainer and spiocizet. The retainer is provided with lugs 2'? extending from the retainer plate portion inwardly towardthe casing B. The lugs 2i extend under a semi-cylindrical ang'e 2t vmounted on the casingv 6'and extending outwardly therefrom over the lugs 21 and into proximity with the annular portion of the retainer.

The retainer 24 and a flange on the hub 2| provide means for retaining oneend of a'substan.. tiallyl tubular piece 29 of resilient materialy which is unaffected by atmospheric conditions, oil or grease and'whlch will not readily take a permasubstantially concentric with plate I9. vLubricant can pass between ring 22 and ring 3|, but cannot escape through or around tubular piece 29 which is secured at both ends. The ring 3| is preferably made of deformable material which Y is slightly resilient or at least is sulciently pliable to allow adaptation of the ring to the surfaces of the other parts with which the ring is in contact. 1

The space between shaft II and gear hub 2|, which is occupied by bearing 8, must also be sealed againstthe entrance of abrasive material into the bearing and through the bearing into the casing 6. A plate 36 is accordingly mounted on the sprocket wheelv I2 and extends into close proximity with a casing 31 over the end of the shaft I I. ,'Ihe space between the plate 36 and the casing 31 is sealed by a sealing ring 38, similar to ring 3| and likewise bearing on the plate 36. Casing 31 guides ring 38 holding it substantially concentric with plate 36. Lubricant can pass between ring 39 vand the adjacent portion of casing 31 but cannot escape through or around sealing tube 39 which is secured at both ends. The seal ring is held in contact with plate 36 by a sealing tube 39 connecting the sealing ring with a ange 4I on the shaft casing 31. Large pieces Vof foreign material are prevented from coming into contact with the sealing ring 38 and the sealing tube39 by a substantially semi-cylindrical shield 42 mounted on the shaft casing 31 directly over the sealing tube and ring and extending into proximity with the platev36and by a substantially semi-conical shield 43 mounted on the shaft casing 31 and extending into proximity with the ring ofthe sprocket I2.

Tube 29 is preferably of such length as under at least slight compression when ring 3| abuts the plate I9 thus retaining the relatively movable surfaces in engagement. Lubricant-in the casing 6 lubricates the engaging surfaces of the seal and particularly the rubbing surfaces of the ring 3|. Flange 28 on the casing 8 cooperates with` the lugs 21 of the retainer 24 to provide a labyrinth through which it is difficult for larger masses of abrasive material to pass. If water or a finely ground wet material should pass into and freeze' in the space under flange 28 and lugs 21, the lugs which rotate with the sprocket wheel I2, will break up such frozen masses in conjunction with the flange 28 and will move the broken pieces beyond the flange or guard where they will drop to the ground.

Fig. 3y illustrates a modified form of the 'present seal, in which shaft I I mounted on roller bearings as shown at 4I extends within the casing 6.- A

- 4sprocket wheel indicated at 43, is rigidly mounted on vthe shaft II, thus making it necessary to provide a `seal only between the sprocket wheel 43 and the casing 6. The shaft I is provided with to be.

' between the flange or plate 44, the inner racewayl of the bearing 4|, and the hub of the sprocket wheel 43. 'Ihe rollers of the bearing 4 I, however, still provide a space into and through which abrasive material may enter the gear casing 6.

It is therefore necessary to provide a seal which will prevent the entrance of undesired foreign material into the bearing 4I and therethrough A into the gear casing 6. A groove 41 is formed'in the sprocket wheel 43 adjacent the hub thereof to receive a retainer 5| for the active seal element. The retainer is formed as a substantally annular plate 52 having a cylindrical and U-l shaped portion 53 extending into the sprocket wheel groove 41. The retainer is held in position .to form a tight and preferably gasketed joint with the sprocket wheel 43 by suitable bolts or studs 54 passing through the retainer land the sprocket wheel. The retainer is provided. over at least the upper portion thereof, with lugs 56 extending from the plate portion 52 of the retainer inwardly toward the gear casing 6. The lugs 56 extend under a semi-cylindrical flange 51 formed on the casing 6 and extending outwardly therefrom over the lugs 56 and 'into proximity with a groove in the retainer plate 52.

' The U-shaped portion 53 of the retainer provides a means for retaining one end of sealing tube 58 of resilient material and is formed preferably of one of the artificial rubberlike compounds now known. The other end of the sealing tube 58 is securedV in a groove in a ring 59 provided with a sealing surface engaging the end of lthe outer raceway of the bearing 4|. Ring 59 is guided so as to be substantially concentric with the outer ra'ceway of the bearing 4I by the outer periphery of plate 44 and the adjacent portion of the hub of the sprocket wheel 43. The ring 59 is again preferably made of slightly resilient Vor pliable non-metallic material to allow adaptation of the ring to the surface of the portion moving in relation thereto.

Retainer 5I, sealing tube 58, and sealing ring 59, are all joined to form xed joints which may therefore be made dust tight in any suitable manner `and thus form a ilxed seal with the sprocket Wheel 43. The sealing tube 58 is preferably under at least a slight l-degree -of compression when the sealing ring 59 engages with its sealing surfaces, thus retaining the relatively movable sealing surfaces in engagement. Lubricant may pass from the casing 6 through the bearing 4I to lubricate the engaging surfaces of the seal. The flange 51 on the casing 6 coopcrates with the groove in the retainer and the lugs 56 extending from the retainer to provide a vlabyrinth through which it is dimcult for larger masses of abrasive material to pass. If water or finely ground wet material should nd itsy way into the space between the flange 51 and about the lugs 56, the lugs 56 will break up such masses and will move the broken pieces beyond the ange 51 from which such pieces will be dis- `the other part, a ring attached to the free end skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the following claims.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Lcttors Patent:

1. In a seal for the joint between relatively moving parts, a straight relatively stiff tube mounted at one end on 'one of the parts and extending toward the other part, a ring attached to the free end of said tube and held ,thereby in contact with the other part, the one part and said ring being grooved for direct reception of the ends of said tube, a divided ring mounted on the one part, and a spring mounted on and retaining the portions of said divided ring in position, said attached ring being 'concentrically mounted on and axially guided by said divided ring.

2. In a seal for the joint between relatively moving parts, a resilient tube mounted at one end on one of the parts land extending toward the other part, a ring attached to the free end of saidl tube, and held thereby in contact with the other part, a ring mounted on the one part in concentric engagement with and concentrically supporting and axially guiding said tube attached ring, and a lug extending from the one part toward the other part and adjacent said tube whereby material collecting about said tube is removed.

3. In a seal for the joint between relatively moving parts, a resilient tube mounted at one end on one of the parts and extending toward of said tube and held thereby in contact with the other part, a guard mounted on the other part and extending toward the one part exteriorly of said tube, and a lug extending from the one party toward the other part and within and adjacent said guard whereby material collectingl about said tube is removed.

4. In a seal for the joint between relatively moving parts, a resilienttube mounted at one end on one of the parts and extending toward the other part, a ring attached to the free end of said tube, a plate mounted on the other vpart and having a surface on which said ring is pressed by said ltube, and a lug extending from ring toward the one part exteriorly of said tube,

and a lug extending from the one part toward the other part and adjacent said guard whereby material collecting about said tube is removed.

JOHN A. MlNER. THEODORE A. HALLER. 

